Energy Astrology: September 2006 Column

Lassoing the Stars for a Better Life

By Cyndi Dale

The Hero’s Journey

We all want to be a hero in our own lives maybe even in someone else’s. September invites us to release the hero within. Of course, the process might be tempestuous but rewarding.

The truth is that September’s astrological anomalies could only be described as “mad.” I don’t mean “mad” as in angry or defiant; rather as energetic and swirling, full of mayhem and mystery. When yesterday’s heroes performed their Herculean tasks, they were often said to be “mad,” or infused with a berserk energy that aroused superhuman strength or unexplainable insight. The same term was often applied to the seers of yester yore, the Delphi oracles, Biblical diviners, or shamanic healers whom entered a trance state before delivering messages or healings from beyond.

It takes a certain “madness” to be a hero.

In classical mythology, a hero is a descendent of both an immortal and a mortal, famous for some sort of extraordinary gift. We are all divine and human, immortal and mortal, and individually, each in possession of a wondrous gift. September’s heavenly happenings serve as the backdrop to invite or maybe to force us to unearth the magic and madness that lies inside. The goal? We must move from fantasizing about our own heroism to living heroically. Thus the spiritual energy of Heroism runs throughout the seas, skies, and soils of this physical world during September, stirred up by several major astrological events.

In this column, we’ll explore the spiritual energy of Heroism and ways to access it through the turmoil of September. There is a “method to the madness,” reasons for the tumultuous tones of change. As we move through September, you’ll be thrown from one side of the “teapot” (in which lies various types of tempests) to another, but all for good reason. You’ll experience:

The end push of August 31^st’s opposition between Saturn and Neptune, which posed the distinction between form and fantasy, or reality and dreams.
A lunar eclipse, which falls on a full moon. Players including Uranus and Pisces, along with welcome intruders like Jupiter and Scorpio, call for reform and change. And we KNOW how fun change can be!
A solar eclipse, which strikes with the new moon. Now protagonists including Pluto dance with antagonists like Virgo to pose the ultimate question for the hero-in-making: What should die, what should live?

And all this as we move over the line of the autumnal equinox, in which the Sun enters Libra and we’re all asked to examine issues of balance and fairness.

Are you ready for September? Well, ready or not, here it comes.

The Spiritual Backdrop

The original meaning of the word “September” was “seven.” September still rings with the energy of a seven, which represents divine truth and offers opportunities to be the best that we can be. In the 9^th Century, Charlemagne decided he didn’t appreciate the misnumbering of the month, which moved into 9^th place somewhere along the line, so he started to call it the month of the “harvest moon.” In many ways, being a hero involves knowing when to stop trying, straining, growing, forcing, and creating and when to start gathering, separating, releasing, yielding, and reaping. If we’re to gain the fruit of our labors, we have to decide what to stop and what to start. We have to harvest.

September is full of mad energy, the type that will annoy and incite us, but also call us to let go of what needs to be released. Death is not the opposite of life. It is one of many stages in the creative process. In order to create a new order, something worthy of our time, gifts, and goals, we have to break down the old order. Consider the (long) transition from childhood to adulthood. In the maturation process, we have to let go of childish ways and accept responsibility. Grown-ups just can’t wipe their noses on their mother’s skirts (which my oldest son was famous for doing); they have to use Kleenex. They can’t giggle then the boss goofs up (though my boys still do that to me); they have to swallow their sarcasm and smile. And then there’s the usual list of adult behaviors that must be exchanged for those of our younger years, such working, picking up the dirty clothes, cleaning the house, purchasing life insurance, and any other number of activities that aren’t important when young. We can still be child-like -- full of fun, play, delight, and serendipity but certain attitudes and behaviors must cease and new ones must start if we’re ever going to make good use of our gifts.

Being a hero is about accepting our life purpose and the tasks involved in carrying them out. The childish can’t be heroes; only adults can. Only adults can “leave home,” letting go of that which has been comfortable, but isn’t any longer working, to venture forth a new way. Living purposefully isn’t only about career or employment; it encompasses all aspects of life, including pleasure, relationship, parenting, self-care, health care, and more. It involves living in integrity; expressing spiritual truths that are meaningful to us, and in everything we do. Loading the dishwasher can be just as purposeful as writing a book. Being a hero is not only about what we show up to do, but how we show up to do it.

The mythological, wartime, or storybook hero is usually depicted as going against great odds in order to help others. Peer beneath these tales and you’ll find that the hero is usually somewhat unprepared, confused, and lost. He or she is frequently unsupported and must find internal rather than external means with which to battle the demons that get in the way of success. Only after the courageous act is accomplished successfully, mind you, is the hero deemed a “hero” and receive applause.

The truth is that the hero was a hero as soon as he or she faced the demons and began the battle. The applause doesn’t make a hero; the actions do.

September’s heavenly events might stir more demons than slay them. It might even present you with more demons than you think you can ever slay! It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you face what you are given. What matters is the way you approach the weeks, days, and minutes of the month. Washing the clothes or watching a sick child IS heroic, if seen in context of the bigger picture. These occurrences really might force you to call courage, commitment, honor, integrity…the spiritual truths of purpose…from deep within. Live responsibly and the hero within will live to receive all the bounty of the harvest, and you will know that you’ve earned the right to enjoy the fruits of all your labors.

September’s Sensations: Sensing What Really Matters

As berserk as are some of the astrological events of September, there truly is a method to the madness. Everything rides on the spiritual energy of Heroism, the path of inner integrity. Let me highlight some of these cosmic motions and show you what I mean.

The opposition between Saturn and Neptune. I devoted last month’s column to this monumental movement, concluding that we must all get real about establishing goals and roles that are practical yet desirable. This energy, which moved in on August 31^st, serves as the stage for much of September’s mania and continues to encourage us to be REAL about our heroic potential. If a so-called heroic effort isn’t pragmatic, it might not be so very heroic.
A lunar eclipse, which also falls on a full moon. The lunar eclipse occurs on September 7^th, in tangent with a full moon. This moon-based eclipse conjuncts in Uranus, the energy of revolution and change. Lunar activities pull us inside of ourselves. Bathed in the relaxing calm of the moon, we often find ourselves swimming in the pool (I didn’t say “cesspool”) of our inner psyche and feelings. So are we invited to dwell inside of our souls this month, asking the really important questions: Am I satisfied with my life? My work? My relationships? What are my feelings telling me? What is my intuition showing me? What changes must I make in order to live my life heroically; in order to show outwardly the integrity I hold internally?

The full moon is in Pisces, the sign of feelings and intuition. Expect this Piscean energy to tug you into a double dose of feelings during the early part of September. You can run but you can’t hide. So don’t. Meanwhile, Jupiter in Scorpio sprinkles us with a little Jupiterian luck. We might need this sparkly Jupiterian energy, as we must cope with the Scorpion sting. Keep this in mind. No matter how poisonous or toxic a presenting event or an internal feeling, a miracle lies underneath. Counting your blessings and searching for the blessings will lead you through the slightly dampening days of early September and right into the lap of the solar eclipse.

A solar eclipse, joined with a new moon on September 22^nd. Solar eclipses do exactly what the sun does: They shine a light in our face. This month’s eclipse is in Virgo, the planet of wisdom, competence, and service. Heroes serve. Heroes represent and fight for a cause larger than themselves. So do you.

What is it?

What cause is worthy of your life? Your life energy? Your commitment, courage, gifts, and heroism? The new moon stands ready to help you not only answer this question, but to act on it. Beware, as they say, of Trojan horses delivered in the night. Don’t just assume that what has worked for you in the past is right for today. This new moon is squared with Pluto, the planet of eruption, transition, and death. You can’t move forward if you continue to carry your past behind you. You won’t be a hero unless you cut and let go of the childish: the bad attitudes, self-pity, or negativity. Before we can even begin to fulfill our purpose, to live heroically, we have to die to what is done and accept what needs to be. A hero is if anything else, independent. He or she is able to leave what doesn’t work and take up what will.

Stepping Through September

What steps can we take to be heroes in our own lives? Here are a few ideas, each of which is supported by the astrological energies available this month.

Get real. Take a few minutes and take stock of your dreams. We all carry dreams in our souls and from our childhood. Perhaps we’ve achieved some of them. There are probably many that we haven’t. Not every desire is worthy of a hero, however. Some dreams are really nightmares, others only fantasies. Write down as many dreams as you can think of, and then put the list aside for a day. Return to it fresh, and now look at it through “Hero’s eyeglasses,” special viewfinders that only heroes can wear. Which of these dreams is worth holding onto, or projecting forward? Which must now go? What is your true quest?
Respond to your negative feelings. Sometimes our most important messages come from undesirable messengers. Benefit from the lunar eclipse energy by delving into those “tough” feelings, like frustration, angry, impatience, sorrow, hurt, and resentment. Why not? They are there anyway; you might as well put them to good use! What are they telling you? What are they pointing out? Your frustration might be telling you that you are ready to “move on” in some area of your life, but you haven’t let yourself. Anger might be inflaming you for movement, while sorrow might be suggesting you’ve been drowning in sad feelings long enough is it time to open to new sources of love? List all your so-called negative feelings and then ask them what they are trying to tell you. If you listen, they will speak.
End things. Take advantage of the solar eclipse and the beginning of autumn; in fact, get a clue from Nature. There are simply some things you have to release. It might be a long-held dream or desire; more likely, a too-tightly clasped attitude, story, self-image, interpretation, or ideal. Heroes deal in reality and guess what? You get to make your own! No, you don’t have the right or the power change everyone else’s reality, or even the reality of the concrete world with “will power” alone. No matter how you glare at it, a wart will probably remain a wart. It doesn’t care that you don’t like it! But you can put an end to your complacency, denial, or whining. (Maybe buy some wart removal?) Let go of what’s in the way of moving forward and taking action, and you’ll be ready to move into your real life the life of the hero.
Begin again. Have you gotten tired of the phrase, “Start each day as if it’s new?” Well, there’s wisdom in the often quoted. Today is a new day. Every moment is a new moment. If you “were” or “are” a hero, how would you live in this moment? Live this way, and life will reward you heroically.